Witchblade (Artifact)
The Witchblade The Witchblade is a conscious, intelligent, and ancient weapon with supernatural origins. It is one of thirteen mystical artifacts, of which several have been revealed: the Witchblade, the Angelus, the Darkness, the Ember Stone, the Glacier Stone, the Rapture, the Blood Sword, the Spear of Destiny, and the Wheel of Shadows. It is the offspring of the universe's opposing aspects, the Darkness and the Angelus. The Witchblade is a male aspect created to act as a balance, which must have a female as a host. The Witchblade was discovered in modern times in Greece by Kenneth Irons, but before he found it, it had many wielders. When not in use, it can look like an ornate, jewel encrusted, right-handed gauntlet. When wielded by an unworthy user, that person will lose their arm. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the host, who can hear the Witchblade. When used, it expands across the body of the wielder, often shredding clothes and covering the body like armour. The amount and coverage of the armour depends on the level of the threat. For example, when facing mortals, it will usually generate less armour than when facing a demon of hell. This armor can produce extensions of itself that can form swords, other stabbing weapons, hooks, chains, shields, and wings, enabling the wielder to fly. It may also become temperamental if the wielder chooses not to use it. When wielded, it can shoot energy blasts from the hand or sword, fire projectile darts, and whip-like grapples to attack or to climb. The Witchblade is also an excellent lock pick, and can heal wounds, even mortal ones. The Witchblade can re-animate the dead, empathically show the wielder scenes of great trauma, and allow the wielder to relive experiences from past wielders as dreams. Following the events in the First Born mini-series, the Witchblade was split into two parts. One half belongs to Dani while Sara has reclaimed the other half. However, the Witchblade originally being the balance between the forces of Darkness and Light, it was revealed in the recent "War of the Witchblades" story-arc that each half of the Witchblade reprensented one of the two primal forces: Sara having the Darkness one and Dani the Light. This led to changes in the personality of the characters, especially Sara. Encouraged by the leaderless Angelus Warriors and the mysterious Tau'ma, both wielders eventually ended up in all out war for the complete control of the witchblade which concluded with Sara victorious and once again in control of the full Witchblade. *'Sara Pezzini': A New York City detective, Sara is a disciplined, tough-talking woman who first encountered the Witchblade while on a case with her ex-partner, Michael Yee. After both officers were mortally wounded by criminal Ian Nottingham, the gauntlet suddenly left the possession of Nottingham's employer, Kenneth Irons, and gave its power to Sara, healing her wounds. Pezzini has since been thrown into a darker world in which she's encountered a number of mystical opponents and strange cases while wielding the Witchblade. Quite often, she has wished for her life to return to normal. Eventually, it was revealed that the Witchblade was actually the offspring of the universe's primal forces, the Angelus and the Darkness. When Jackie Estacado, the host of the Darkness, was taken control of by his power, he impregnated a temporarily comatose Sara as part of an effort to sway the Witchblade's balance. However, neither of them became aware of this until later. Eventually, Sara met and relinquished the Witchblade to Dani Baptiste, whom the artifact had a strong affinity toward. Coincidentally, Dani also happened to be the daughter of Sara's police captain. Following the birth of her daughter, Hope, Sara's life was saved when she received half of the Witchblade from Dani. Both women bear distinct visual effects when activating the gauntlet. Sara, formally possessing the half infused with the Darkness, manifests a dark appearance and bat-like wings when flying. She now possesses the full Witchblade, as Dani is now the host for the Angelus. *'Danielle Baptiste': The latest in the long line of bearers, Danielle is an impulsive but good-hearted young dancer who was born in New Orleans. After moving to New York to pursue her career, she experienced a mysterious dream which foretold her destiny. In the vision, she saw herself inheriting great power by means of a mystical gauntlet, though she was told that it would require much discipline to control. Perplexed by the message, Dani found herself taking a walk and wandering to an antique shop the next day. It was there that she encountered Sara Pezinni, the then-current wielder of the Witchblade. Having become pregnant, Sara realized that the time had come for her to relinquish the gauntlet. She also noticed that it became quite animated in Dani's presence, constantly reaching out to her. Dani recognized the Witchblade as the same artifact from her dream, and offered to relieve Sara of it upon learning what it was. Realizing that Dani was meant to become the next bearer, Sara relinquished the Witchblade to her. After receiving possession of the balance, Dani faced a string of challenges in learning to control both it and her emotions. While exploring her power, she also faced and overcame a number of mystical opponents. Eventually, Dani returned half of the Witchblade to Sara in order to save Sara's life following the birth of her child. She currently doesn't have any portion of the Witchblade, as she is the current host to the Angelus. *The Angelus: The Angelus is an entity of light which represents order. Throughout history, it has chosen various women on Earth to serve as its host, each of whom are joined in battle by numerous winged soldiers known as Angelus Warriors. Along with the Darkness, the Angelus is one of the two primal forces of the universe that created the Witchblade. *The Darkness: The Darkness is an entity of dark which represents chaos. Like the Angelus, it is one of two primal forces of the universe that created the Witchblade, though it has chosen male hosts throughout history. The most well-known wielder is Jackie Estacado, a mob boss who has had many run-ins with Sara. While under the Darkness' influence, he impregnated a temporarily comatose Sara, which made him the father of her child, Hope. *'Magdalena (Patience)': The warrior of the Catholic Church. *'Detective Patrick Gleason': Sara's partner and boyfriend. *'The Curator': A mysterious owner of an antiques shop, the Curator is a sage-like spectator and occasional informant. One of Dani's most trusted confidants, he knows much about the Witchblade, the other artifacts, and the ongoing matters surrounding the Angelus and the Darkness. *'Tau'ma': Brother of The Curator, and just as mysterious. Unlike his brother, who tries to keep the balance intact, Tau'ma is clearly on the Darkness' side. He can pull out demons from his head to attack or spy others, and wields a powerful cane with a gem-incrusted hawk head. *'Hope Pezzini': Sara's daughter, who was fathered by the Darkness using Jackie Estacado for the necessary "biology", which makes Hope technically the half-sister of the Witchblade itself. *'Ian Nottingham': Formerly a Captain of the British Special Air Service regiment, Ian subsequently joined MI5. He underwent behavioural modifications for the purpose of infiltrating the Yakuza. Afterwards, he forgot his past, and became a bodyguard for Kenneth Irons. Ian has phenomenal skill, both with archaic and modern weapons, bordering on the supernatural. In issue #1, Ian kills Sara's partner, Michael Yee. For a time his body and soul underwent a great change, allowing Ian the capability to absorb great quantities of energy, even going so far as to temporarily host both the Witchblade and the Darkness. For a time, he wielded Excalibur, the Witchblade's twin, but it was revealed that the sword was merely a shard of the Witchblade, which quickly reabsorbed it. After he lost the Excalibur and was defeated by Sara in issue #75, Ian was taken to prison where he still is. *'Kenneth Irons': A rich entrepreneur that discovered the Witchblade in Greece, Irons' age is undefined. It was eventually revealed that he'd once drank from the Holy Grail, establishing him as older than 800 years. However, due to his exposure to the Witchblade during an attempt to wield it, Irons does not age at a normal rate, appearing to be no older than 35. Initially, Ian Nottingham served as his close and trusted bodyguard, until both Irons' and Ian's fascination with Sara Pezzini drove a wedge between them. In a failed bid to gain control of the Witchblade, Kenneth Irons lost his hand and sacrificed his wife. In issue #75, Kenneth Irons was one of two characters left in the Deathpool. As a result, Chief Joe Siry killed Irons for all of the troubles that Irons had unleashed on Sara. *'Joe Siry': Sara's former captain when she served at the 18 Precinct. He was the partner to Sara's dead father, Detective Vincent Pezzini, and has a tendency to dote on her as if she was his daughter. He is married to Dalia. It was revealed that Siry had a hidden agenda with Irons, which forced him to kill Vincent Pezzini in order to protect Sara. *'Jake McCarthy': Jake was Sara's best friend and partner. He grew madly in love with Sara, but his feelings were unrequited. He fell into a coma after he was wounded defending a weakened Sara. When he awoke in issue #100, he was possessed by a malevolent being bent on destroying the world. Sara drove the demonic force out of his body, but Jake committed suicide to ensure that it could never return. *'Lisa': Daughter of Maria, a deceased friend of Sara's. Sara promised Maria that she would keep an eye on Lisa. She makes her living as a model. *'Julie Pezzini': Sara's sister. She was romantically involved with Jake, but the two broke up when Jake discovered that she was running drugs. Under the effects of a hope-suppressing evil, Jake later returned and shot Julie, but she survived. As of issue #130, Julie has just come out of her stay in prison for her dealings with drugs. Witchblade Wielders In reverse chronological order (fictional chronology, not publication dates) save non-canon and alternate realities: *Persephani (fictitious, wielder in the far future) *Masane Amaha (fictitious, from the Witchblade anime, near future) *Yuri Miyazono (fictitious) *Takeru Ibaraki (fictitious, from the Witchblade manga) *Akane Nakiko(fictitious, from Witchblade/Dark Mind: Return of Paradox, near future) *Debbie Santalesa (fictitious, from Dark Minds/Witchblade, near future) *Selina Alice Lauren (fictitious, wielder, circa 2100) *Ivy Pezzini (fictitious, Sara's daughter in a possible future) *Danielle Baptiste (fictitious, the wielder after Sara) *Ian Nottingham (fictitious, second male wielder. Only wielder to so far combine the Witchblade with either the Darkness or the Angelus) *Sara Pezzini (fictitious) *Tasya Federova (fictitious) *Josephine Valmont (fictitious) *Elizabeth Brontë (fictitious) *Enola *Anne Bonny *Roxanne Laroque (fictitious) *Yuka-chan (fictitious) *Shiori-sama *Joan of Arc *Maitea *Annabella Altavista *Itagaki *Leung Lin Yao *Zara, Queen of Bones (fictitious, from Dark Crossings) *Hua Mulan *Samantha McRenald (fictitious) *Princess Raquel (fictitious) *Katarina (A user before Sara Pezzini, from Medieval Spawn/Witchblade teamup) *Artemisia *Lysandra *Myrine *Una, the first bearer (fictitious) Other identified wearers include Cathain, who is remembered as an Irish Celtic war goddess by history in the live action TV series of the Witchblade. Cathain is connected to the historical Irish Celtic King, Conchobar. Alternate Reality *Kimberly Tossovova (alt. reality, fictitious) Non-Canon *Wonder Woman (JLA/Witchblade)(co-op universe with DC: non-canon to Top Cow or DC Universe) *Sister Midnight (Fictitious, from Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/Darkness: MindHunter Crossover) In reverse chronological order: *John Sansman (fictitious) *LaFemme Dominique Boucher (fictitious) *Kenneth Irons (fictitious)